Tuesday, June 7, 2016

iPhone 7 Leak Confirms Two Biggest Features Removed

by Gordon Kelly

I write about technology's biggest companies

In recent years AppleAAPL +0.76% has made one thing very clear: iPhone ‘Plus’ models are top dog. They have better cameras, far superior battery life and better screens. And now with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that gap looks set to get even bigger…

Picked up by the ever reliable 9to5Mac, are renders of cases for the iPhone 7 Plus and they confirm it will indeed get two major features the iPhone 7 will miss out on:

Dual Camera

Yes the iPhone 7 Plus is getting a much bigger camera upgrade than the iPhone 7 this year. Whereas the iPhone 7 will get a small upgrade, the iPhone 7 Plus will be moving to the much vaunted dual camera technology already seen from the likes of LG and Huawei.

Dual modules can be used in different ways – either to mimic optical zoom or create wide angle lenses – so it remains to be seen how Apple will implement it for the iPhone 7 Plus. That said, it could prove the killer difference when millions come to upgrade.

Smarter Connectivity

Early iPhone 7 leaks caused much confusion with Apple’s Smart Connector repeatedly showing up then being omitted by various well informed sources. Now we know why: it will be an iPhone 7 Plus only feature (as seen by the three ‘dots’ on the back of the case).In some ways this makes sense. The Smart Connector allows the Lightning port to both send and receive power and data simultaneously. This allows for things like portable keyboards to be powered by an Apple device (as seen with the iPad Pro range) and that probably makes more sense with the larger screen and bigger battery of the Plus.

Given the Smart Connector adds cost, it also would help justify the price difference between the iPhone 7 and pricier iPhone 7 Plus.

Other Differences

What the cases don’t show, however, is these differences are the just tip of the iceberg.

The iPhone 7 Plus is also expected to get 50% per more RAM which bumps it up to 3GB, a bigger boost in battery performance and potentially we may even see the arrival of a third 5.5-inch model – the iPhone 7 Pro (reports on it remain mixed).

Whether Apple will dare to make all these differential changes remains to be seen, but certainly it looks increasingly likely. As does the controversial removal of the headphone jack, something these renders become yet another source to confirm after I argued this was in the pipeline two years old.

iPhone 7 Plus case renders also show the headphone jack will be removed. Image credit: 9to5Mac

I’ve long said the only benefit the 4.7-inch iPhone retains over its 5.5-inch version is its portability. And that looks set to be even more true of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus…